Dong!
Shawn heard the chime of the clock.
He was currently on the third-floor attic, with a distant view of the train tracks. This should be the East Gate District of Dorne City, quite far from his residence, near the old market of the Lower City District. Dorne City, a metropolitan area with a population of several million, has numerous market zones scattered throughout its districts.
"Prepare for action!"
Benjamin took out his pocket watch and checked the time.
This time, Shawn didn’t remove his Confusion, but within his intuition, he had already sensed a hint of unease. As his gaze swept over the rooftops, he saw a fleeting strange shadow darting beneath the eaves with cat-like agility.
Tick-tock! Tick-tock! Tick-tock!
The sound of the clock ticking echoed in all of their ears, but in the marketplace ahead, the busy vendors, shopping housewives, and playing children seemed completely oblivious to this ticking sound.
Shawn could not help but adjust his Confusion. He saw a massive clock, invisible to the naked eye, appearing in the sky, with its hands pointing to the 12 o’clock position.
Dong!
As the hands ticked past the last mark, in Shawn’s field of vision, everything around him began to freeze. The vendors in the market stood motionless, housewives remained in their bargaining postures, children clung to their mothers’ legs in play, and water splashed from a fishmonger paused in mid-air.
Woo woo woo!
The entire area’s time had stopped, yet Shawn could still hear the distant roar of a train whistle.
—"Mirror World!" (In ancient Elven tongue.)
Shawn saw a tall and graceful woman, the Death Pilgrim, emerge from the opposite attic. She wore a pair of golden glasses and a striking red trench coat. As she descended the stairs, she snapped her fingers.
Everything before them began to shatter and reassemble.
The surrounding buildings were reshaped like reflections, bustling crowds simultaneously vanished, and mirror-like images began to overlap with reality. The distant train station also faded into an insubstantial backdrop, with an area of about one kilometer around the market district being dragged into a space that did not belong to reality.
All the Night Watchers present were marked, integrated into the mirror-like special space, and simultaneously, the supernatural creatures lurking in this area were locked in as well.
"Prepare for combat." Benjamin put away his pocket watch.
A silver Flowing Light streaked by.
With a leap, he gripped the eaves from the attic and vaulted over, landing instantly on a rooftop more than ten meters high.
Daisy showed an eager expression, but she stayed by Shawn’s side.
On the distant rooftops.
Shawn saw agile figures, demonstrating non-human agility, leaping across rooftops in the Old Town District.
It seemed he was the only Investigator here.
Accompanied by a dull boom, a house collapsed directly, revealing a dark Blood Sacrifice Ceremony in a shadowy corner. A massive black flesh mass appeared, sprouting black whip-like tendrils. Around the flesh mass grew enormous mouths with pale teeth exposed, dripping dark green slime from its maw. Beneath its body were thick hooves, with a silhouette resembling an ancient tree, its short legs like trunks, and tentacle-covered body like the outspread canopy, standing nearly two stories high.
—Black Goat Descendants! [Ancient Race] [Mythical Creature]
A grave-like stench permeated the air.
Shawn felt significant discomfort, not just due to the stench, but even just seeing the monster gave him a hint of mental pain.
More bizarre creatures emerged from the darkness.
This place had been set up with a Blood Sacrifice Ceremony. According to their script, the entire market area was a hunting ground. But now, they had been isolated from reality, forced to hastily summon bizarre creatures from the Bizarre Realm.
"Help!!!"
In the direction of the Black Goat Descendant’s arrival, a young man appeared, running in panic. He looked short and was dressed like a private detective, his face twisted in fear as he desperately fled towards Shawn.
This was also a Transcendent.
But likely not a Night Watcher, possibly a wild Transcendent, swept into the Mirror World’s fatal miracle.
Pursuing him was a monster, resembling a humanoid lizard, with long limbs, slightly yellow and bloodshot eyes, and a body roughly the size of a mule or horse. It was grotesque and nauseating, with a nose-less, blurry human face.
Bizarre creature.
They weren’t true Evil Objects, merely lower-ranking malevolent beings.
Daisy and William watched the approaching young man, silently shielding Shawn.
—Invisible Servant.
Shawn lifted his hand slightly, summoning a servant from the Spirit Realm. It wasn’t of much use, perhaps only able to block a bullet once.
Invisible to the eye, it was quite useful, capable of blocking a typical attack.
Two Invisible Hands extended from behind Shawn. He himself didn’t move, but as his coat flared open, two pistols automatically hovered beside him. Against this level of bizarre creature, firearms were quite effective, capable of taking them down with a headshot.